Speed has become one of the most sought after traits in the modern game. The old school full back who wins his tackles and does the simple things well has turned into an athlete who is expected to cover the full length of the pitch multiple times per games whilst also defending and whipping in crosses.
More and more we are seeing the 4-5-1 formation working so well with pacey wide men demolishing defences and feeding into A clinical number 9.
Of course speed is only a part of the game and there are plenty players who aren’t fast physically but are lightning fast mentally, Andreas Pirlo was the perfect example.
However, there is no denying that having lightning pace can make even the average technical player very effective in certain situations.
Whilst it used to be a matter of opinion who was the fastest on a football pitch, the new GPS technologies have enabled the everyday football fan to see exactly how fast the players are running each match.
The fastest time by a player stated by FIFA comes from winger Arjen Robben who managed to reach up to 37km/h during the 2014 world cup.
What about Premier League players? Who is the fastest?
In a 100m foot race there may be different results but no players is going to run in a straight line for 100m during a game, so the only thing we really care about is who has reached the highest speeds DURING A MATCH!Whilst there will be an update to this list with this season stats with the likes of speed demons Salah, Bellerin and of course the well-known flying machine Aubameyang, this is the most up to date official statistics from OPTA.
- Leroy Sane 35.48 km/h
- Patrick Van Aanholt 35.42 km/h
- Shane Long 35.31 km/h
- Antonio Valencia 35.20 km/h
- Antonio Rudiger 35.19 km/h
There isn’t much between 1st and 5th place, however with fractions of a second being the difference between being first and second to the ball, every millisecond counts!
What do you think?
Can Salah, Aubameyang, Bellerin or anyone else clock up a faster speed on the pitch than Leroy Sane?
If you are looking to improve YOUR speed then keep an eye out for our FOOTBALL SPEED TRAINING PROGRAM coming next month!
